About Me

WHO AM I?

My childhood was like a game of musical chairs spanning the Atlantic Ocean where the music never stopped and no one was laughing. I was born in Mexico City, then subsequently lived in New Jersey, Jerusalem, London, back to Jersey, then back to Jerusalem for a gap year, then Boston for college, and now I live in Manhattan.

But who am I, really? Really, I’m just a young adult trying to understand why my brain is filled with anxious negative chatter and why I succumb to them so often. Am I destined to continue the cycle of joy followed by stressing and losing weight until I have another anxiety attack? I’ve had three in the past fiscal year, not that I’m counting. Although someone probably has to, in case there’s a scratch-off card in the next ER.

Jews have used humor to cope with pain for thousands of years. I’m a playwright continuing in that tradition. I use word play and slapstick Borscht Belt-style comedy to create an entertaining gateway into difficult topics we need to discuss, the most meaningful of which are, to me, depression and anxiety amongst our youth, the potential effects of global climate change, and the struggle to remain religious in a secular world where miracles occur only in medicine or in a sweat lodge with ayahuasca. Consistent with my upbeat attitude and adult-braces-filled smile, my plays take an optimistic approach. When tragedy inevitably strikes, as all little Jewish boys and girls are taught early on, there is always an opportunity to build bridges toward a brighter future.

I occasionally come out of the shadows and the dark, crowded, candlelit space I call an office, I throw away my quill and parchment and stare into the blinding sunlight, then walk myself to an improv rehearsal. I caught this nasty bug of performance and laughter in college, where I was a member of the improv troup “To Be Announced” for four glorious years. Here, in the holy city of theatre, I studied at UCB and Improv Boston, and later performed with an indie team called “Golden Hour”, comprised of fellow improvisors out of the People’s Improv Theatre.

Does my performance career not sufficiently impress you? Good. It shouldn’t. But I do hope it instills within all of you a faith in my ability to understand the complexities of comedy. I respect it as an art form, and I am dedicated to being a student of humor for life.